Basement dehumidifiers?
#11
I have a basement that is pretty damp and I would like to start using it as storage. We have tried in the past, but the moisture caused problems. I do need to repair a section in one corner that leaks, but the rest is solid. Until that is fixed rain will bring moisture in once and a while. I just measured my basement out to be ~5700ft3. What should I be looking st for brands and for those of you that are using a dehumidifier and have similar dimensions and similar moisture issues, how much does it cost to run it? Does it have to go 24x7 or can it be put on a timer?

Thanks, Bob
Reply
#12
I have a portable dehumidifier that runs 24/7.
It pulls about 10 gals a day out of the air.
I run it year round, unless the temp falls below 65*F.

My unit is a Whirlpool. Spent ~$500 on it.

If I don't run it all the time, my basement gets soaking wet. My unit drains via hose directly into the sump pit.
Reply
#13
My shop is in my basement. Without a dehumidifier it's about 75% relative humidity in the summer.

My basement is 38' x 26' x 8' (entire basement, not just my shop) and I'm using a 50 pint Fridgidare that has no problem keeping the RH at 50%.

Dehumidifiers seem to be disposable commodities these days. My previous Danby lasted 2 seasons (I don't run it in the winter) and only had a one year warranty

My Fridgidare has a 1 year warranty as well but I purchased the 2 year replacement warranty from Lowe's for $25 which doesn't begin until the manufacturer's warranty expires so at least I'm guaranteed 3 years from this unit.

Timer?? I can tell you that after a power failure, the Fridgidare does not come back on. I have to switch it back on manually sort of like a magnetic switch on a table saw so I don't think a timer would work.

Mike
Reply
#14
You can set the moisture level on them. No idea on my brand. Just went to the hardware store and got whatever they had in stock. Paid $180, IIRC. Yes, they use a lot of juice.
Mark

I'm no expert, unlike everybody else here - Busdrver


Nah...I like you, young feller...You remind me of my son... Timberwolf 03/27/12

Here's a fact: Benghazi is a Pub Legend... CharlieD 04/19/15

Reply
#15
My basement doesn't have a sump. Maybe I can put a sump pump in a barrel and pipe the drain to that. I can then run it through the wall.

Other than making sure the water is draining is there much maintenance to them?

I'm seriously considering a mini split unit; those are good at removing moisture I've heard. Maybe I can save my money until I'm able to do that instead.

Bob
Reply
#16
bobs64ford352 said:


My basement doesn't have a sump. Maybe I can put a sump pump in a barrel and pipe the drain to that.

Bob




I built a heavy duty table for mine that's 36 inches high. I put it right next to the laundry sink and the dehumidifier drains into the sink.

As an added benefit, it seems to circulate the air better when it's 3 feet off the floor.

Mike
Reply
#17
I mounted mine on the wall using two shelf brackets. Mine came with a reservoir which can be hooked up to a garden hose and I drain this out one of the windows.

My basement is 1,600 square feet and one dehumidifier will not do the job. I placed two at opposite ends of the basement. If it is just for storage the dehumidifiers will work fine. But if you want to work down there they will make the room very warm.

For the same money as a dehumidifier you can get a 6,000 btu window air conditioner. I got mine for under $100.00 at Sam's Club. A few weeks later they were selling them for $60.00 (end of summer clearance).

I run the dehumidifiers in the winter and the A.C. in the summer but only when I am down there.

I would imagine that the AC draws more current; in the very hot weather I leave it on low and only turn it up when I go down stairs.

A circulating fan will improve the performance of either by moving the damp air towards the a.c or the dehumidifier.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
Reply
#18
bobs64ford352 said:


My basement doesn't have a sump. Maybe I can put a sump pump in a barrel and pipe the drain to that. I can then run it through the wall.

Other than making sure the water is draining is there much maintenance to them?

I'm seriously considering a mini split unit; those are good at removing moisture I've heard. Maybe I can save my money until I'm able to do that instead.

Bob




The minisplit will remove moisture but not as effectively as a dehumidifier. The primary role of an ac is to cool air and the primary role of a dehumidifier is to remove moisture. The difference is the coil temps are colder on a dehumidifier and they have a heater to melt is ice off.

The smallest minisplit I have seen and cheapest is around $500.

Here and especially places closer to the coast the building science guys recommend a dehumidifier in houses to help remove moisture. Increases comfort and uses less energy as both can do their specialized job instead of trying to treat the ac as a dual purpose unit. Very important in tightly sealed houses as well.
Reply
#19
You need to look at the total amount and type of air going through your basement. If you have your furnace and air handling unit down there and it draws air from the basement, then you are really trying to dehumidify all the air in your house.
If not, then you can get by with a much smaller unit.

I am in charge of trying to prevent mold from high relative humidity in many buildings without A/C.
Our high school media center is about 200’x 70’x 16’. During the summer we can almost completely seal it. We place a couple of 70 pint dehumidifiers in there draining to 65gal containers. The first couple of days they work to the max. Then draw a little less each day till they level off at about a gallon or two a day.

The units have a humistat so they go on as needed to maintain 50% RH. They also have auto restart. This was very necessary as we also have to maintain 45 to 50% rh for our string and woodwind instruments in the band rooms.

They cost about $35 a month to run (this includes a peak demand charge as our utility company has a funny way of charging us)
They have been in use for 6 years now with no problems.

I have some pretty good RH monitoring meters and I checked the dehumidifiers’ accuracy; they were pretty close.

If you are not going to spend a lot of time in the basement I would counsel against A/C. RH is a function of water vapor and temperature. The lower the temp the more water you have to remove to achieve an acceptable level of RH. Once you go lower than about 76 degrees you get diminishing returns. Taken to the extreme, should you be able to lower the temps to about 50-55, you would be close to 100% RH and have water dripping from your walls. The other thing is once you get your basement walls to say 70*, any moist outside air that infiltrates into your basement will condensate on your walls, floors and ceilings.
(edit: yeah, probably not. Assuming it is not coming in through the walls, the air will mix with the other air and disperse the water vapor, raising the dew point to some number higher than 70*. If you are getting moisture through the walls it might be a different story)
So, then you set your basement A/C to 76*. Then there will be many days when the temp won’t be hot enough for the A/C to go on and remove that water vapor.

Better to keep your basement warm and dry with a dehumidifier that measures the variable you are trying to control.

Edit: Fix that corner. If nothing else add dirt to increase the slope away from the foundation, a lot. Then cover the entire area with a couple layers of 6 or 8 mil plastic for as far away from the foundation as possible. Make sure the water has someplace benign to go. Cover with rock or something non porous. We had one building with a basement classroom with a crack someplace in that wall. The above temporary fix worked so well we decided to not worry about trying to actually fix the wall.
Reply
#20
As someone else said, dehumidifiers are disposable appliances these days. I've had 4 in the last 8 years; none has gone longer than 2 years. The Frigidaire I have now at least comes back on automatically if the power goes out, when the power comes back on that is. If you don't have a sump, buy a self contained laundry sump and run the outlet of the dehumidifier to it. Hose the outlet to a window or into your DWV plumbing. I have a 70 pint unit and it easily handles my 1600 sq ft basement. It uses at least $15/month in added electricity in the Summer months, probably closer to $20. And it adds a noticeable amount of heat, too, as someone else mentioned, uncomfortably warm at times. I've often thought a window AC would be a better option, but I have no windows.

John
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)

Product Recommendations

Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.